News

Back in May I took the Saturn into my garage in Tavistock as the A/C wasn't working very well. The garage did a temporary fix. To fix it properly, I need $1,700 worth of repair if they can find the part. Unfortunately, the part was not available in Ontario and had to come from the United States which would make the repair much more expensive. I have found that parts for the Saturn are hard to find for a 20 year old car.

Over the last couple of years, I have been researching for a new car. Now with the bill to fix the A/C the decision was made.

I have always liked the Honda Civic Sedan. So off to Woodstock I went to see what they had or I could get. Stratford Honda didn't seem very interested in helping me get a new car. Woodstock Honda had 4 on order to arrive at their location early August.  On May 21st, I signed the paperwork for a Honda Civic Sedan EX. The price and interest rate were guaranteed. I then just needed to wait. Some people who know me, know that I'm not always very patient.

I went to Rock Glen for the Canadian July long weekend and on the drive my A/C totally quit. With having wind up windows, I needed to make a stop to open a couple of windows to try and stay cool. Not very successful. I was out of the park by 9 am to get back home before the it got really hot.

Finally on Friday, August 19th, I was able to pick up the Honda. What a joy it was to have A/C. I will have a huge learning curve as there are so many features that I didn't have in the Saturn.

After getting the Honda, I went home and packed up the car to go to Rock Glen for the weekend. I was told that George was going to presented with an award and they wanted me to be there to accept it. 

Rock Glen had their 50th Anniversary celebration on Saturday. There were a lot of awards given to people as appreciation to what they do for the park and to various members. Kristy presented me with the Best News award as George was always promoting the park. She also said that he was famous for his tie dye shirts.

They also had certificates for the loyal campers. The certificates were given out for every 10 year duration, starting with 1972. We joined Rock Glen in 2006. We always enjoyed our stay and the membership.

It was a great weekend. A lot of people were involved with this special occasion for Rock Glen. Thanks to all of you who put this celebration together.

The Honda is a pleasure to drive. I had no issues to or from Rock Glen. Now I start the process of learning more about the features that I have. I have even started looking through the manual.

Thanking everyone in advance for your comments.

Family Get Together

Yesterday, we had a family get together on the family farm.

My great grandparents Peter & Mary Roth purchased the second farm about 1914 when their eldest son Sidney decided he wasn't going to high school. Sidney stayed on the first farm for many years. Peter, Mary and their children worked the second farm. Peter died in 1918, so Arthur my grandfather worked the farm with his mother. 

Arthur married Malinda in 1933 and they had 2 girls. Arthur purchased the farm from his mother in 1935. My mom, Beatrice was one of the girls and married my father Levi Kuepfer in 1956. They lived at various locations while growing a family of 3, 2 girls and 1 boy. In 1962, Arthur had several heart attacks and could no longer work the farm. My Mom & Dad then moved to what we call the home farm. We all lived in the same house. Grandma, grandpa, Mom, Dad and the 3 children. It was great to be able see our grand parents every day. 

In 1968, Grandma & grandpa moved off the farm into a new house in New Hamburg. Unfortunately, grandpa was not able to enjoy living in town for long, as he passed away a month after moving in.

Needless to say, my mother and father took possession of the farm. It has continued on in the family to my brother and now to his son, Greg. It has been in the family for over 100 years. 

The main reason for our get together, is that Greg and his wife have built a new dairy barn and the family wanted to see how the operation all worked. The get together was with the Kuepfer family and my Aunt's family, (mom's sister). There have been many family get celebrations over the years on the farm, including my 50th Birthday party and George & I retirement party in 2006.

This is a picture of the farm in 1962.

Front of the house in 1991, when Mom & Dad moved into New Hamburg.

In 1982 Dad & my brother added a dairy barn to milk 50 cows.

From the above picture, Greg had the original barn board barn taken down and started the extension in 2020. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the new barn but imagine an addition about a foot ball field long replacing the old barn. Greg now has more room to increase his herd.

For this occasion, Greg also planted 2 trees. One for my grandparents and the other for my parents. The following is the plaque that is at the trees.

The following is a picture of all in attendance.

It was great to see everyone who could attend. This farm will always have a special place in my heart.